Controversial former mayor Rodrigo Duterte was elected as president of the Philippines in a landslide victory on May 6, winning almost twice as much of the vote as his nearest rival.

Since he won, more than 1,900 people have been killed, including 700 during police operations, as part of a vicious drug war being waged on Duterte's behalf on the streets of the Philippines.

But who was the hardline Philippines leader before he became president?

'The Punisher'

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As mayor of Davao City, a metropolis of 1.5 million people on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, Duterte first made his name nationally for his no-nonsense approach to crime.

He advocates a hard-line approach to criminals and claims to have drastically reduced Davao's previously high rates of violent crime.

But along with this reputation came allegations that he was connected to extrajudicial killings by a well coordinated group of vigilantes, earning him the moniker "The Punisher" by Time Magazine in 2002.

Photos:Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.

After US president Barack Obama said he would raise extrajudicial killings in a meeting with Duterte, the Philippines President responded angrily on September 5, first in English then in Tagalog. As a result, Obama canceled the meeting.

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Photos:Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.

As he addressed troops at the country's Armed Forces Central Command Headquarters on August 5, Duterte recounted U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's visit to the country, saying in Tagalog that he was feuding with U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg.

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Photos:Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.

The Philippines president-elect effectively said he supported vigilantism against drug dealers and criminals in a nationally televised speech in June 2016.

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Photos:Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.

Speaking at a press conference to unveil his new cabinet on May 31 2016, Rodrigo Duterte said journalists killed on the job in the Philippines were often corrupt.

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Photos:Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.

During the third and last presidential debate, Duterte had said that he would plant a Philippine flag in disputed territories should China refuse to recognize a favorable ruling for the Philippines.

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Photos:Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.

Duterte made international headlines in April 2016 with his inflammatory comments on the 1989 rape and murder of an Australian missionary that took place in Davao City.

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Photos:Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.

Foreign diplomats weighing in on Rodrigo Duterte's controversial remarks did not sit well with the then-mayor.

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Photos:Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.

He also lashed out at the womens' group that filed a complaint against him before the Commission on Human Rights (CHR).

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Photos:Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.

At a CNN Philippines Townhall event in February 2016, Duterte, admitted that he had three girlfriends and a common-law wife. His marriage to Elizabeth Zimmerman was annulled due to his womanizing, but he denied this meant he objectified women.

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Photos:Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.

Although he later denied the accusations, the former Davao City mayor admitted his links to the alleged Davao death squad in a May 2015 broadcast of his local television talk show.

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Photos:Rodrigo Duterte has said some outrageous things.

Duterte apologized to the Pope after cursing him for the traffic he caused during a 2015 Papal visit to the Philippines.

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Duterte himself confirmed the claims during a regular live weekly TV show broadcast locally in the Philippines last year.

"Me? They are saying that I'm part of a death squad? True, that's true," he said in a mix of English and Visayan, a language spoken in southern Philippines, before threatening to kill thousands more criminals and dump them into Manila Bay if he was elected president of the Philippines.

He later retracted that statement in a press conference, telling reporters there were "no Davao death squads," but the allegations remain and numerous local and international human rights groups have repeatedly criticized his record.

When it comes to women, it's complicated

Duterte came under fire for his flirty behavior on the campaign trail, as well as the large number of women in his life.

He has three children from his first marriage to Elizabeth Zimmerman, a partnership that has since been annulled, and currently has a common-law wife, Cielito Avancena, who is better known as Honeylet. Far from monogamous, he has publicly admitted to having as many as three girlfriends.

Duterte's relationships and his public behavior -- he has faced allegations of sexual harassment, after photos of him kissing women seated on his lap during the election campaign started circulating locally -- have led many to question his attitude to women.

Curses ambassadors and the Pope

Duterte has featured in the Philippines press throughout his political career but made international headlines before the election with comments he made in a YouTube video on the 1989 rape and murder of an Australian missionary.

"I was angry she was raped, yes that was one thing. But she was so beautiful, I think the mayor should have been first. What a waste," he said of the attack, which took place in Davao City.

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He has repeatedly refused to apologize for the comments and told the ambassadors of the United States and Australia, two of the Philippines' closest allies, to "shut their mouth" after they criticized his "joke." He has also disowned an apology that was issued on his behalf by his political party.

He can show remorse, though, sending a letter of apology to the Pope last year after he cursed the Pontiff for the traffic he caused during a January visit to the country.

"We were affected by the traffic. It took us five hours. I asked why, they said it was closed. I asked who is coming. They answered, the Pope. I wanted to call him, "Pope, (swear words), go home. Do not visit us again," he said.